🎯Today's Entrepreneurship Pulse
Updated 3h agoWhat's happening: Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub crowned UK’s top accelerator
The Enterprise Hub, launched in 2013, was named the leading UK accelerator for spin‑outs and startups in a joint Statista, Financial Times and Sifted analysis. The ranking considered alumni feedback, investor and academic recommendations, and post‑program success, with the Hub having supported over 600 founders to date.
Also developing:
- •Moroccan regtech Charikaty secures $150K on national TV investment show
- •Egyptian circular‑economy platform Dawar takes equity stake in BekyaPay
- •Trener Robotics raises $32M Series A to make industrial robots adaptive teammates
- •Badge lands $17.1M Series A to embed loyalty and messaging in digital wallets
News•Feb 17, 2026
This Company Has Built a Backpack-Style System for Robotics Data Collection
Lumos, a robotics startup founded in September 2024, unveiled FastUMI Pro, a backpack‑mounted universal manipulation interface designed to accelerate embodied AI data collection. The company aims to deploy 10,000 units across six real‑world environments by 2026, targeting one million hours of structured robot interaction data. FastUMI Pro cuts task recording time from 50 seconds to ten seconds and reduces cost to under $0.08 per instance, promising a tenfold efficiency gain over traditional teleoperation. Lumos also launched a data supermarket, selling standardized datasets to accelerate model training.
By KrASIA
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Founders Obsess Over OpenClaw: Why It Matters
Why are founders SO OBSESSED with OpenClaw? The creator of the AI assistant, Peter Steinberger has moved over to OpenAI, sending waves of panic and trepidation across the developer community. We’ve talked for weeks about the advantages of the OpenClaw platform, but...
By Jason Calacanis
News•Feb 17, 2026
UNSW Puts $35 Million Into Uni Startup Spinouts
UNSW Sydney is allocating $35 million to boost research commercialisation, including a $25 million pre‑seed fund and a $10 million investment in VC High Street Ventures, with the goal of launching 50 spinout companies by 2030. The pre‑seed fund will provide up to...
By Startup Daily (ANZ)
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Ship a Rough Prototype Today, Not Perfect Plans Tomorrow
Most builders spend 6 months perfecting their plan. Then ship nothing. A rough prototype shipped today beats a perfect product shipped never. Execution is the only strategy that compounds.
By Luca Restagno
Social•Feb 16, 2026
In AI Era, VC Success Hinges on Taste
This. In a world in which AI can generate infinite everything — images, content, you name it — the key differentiator becomes curation, which requires taste to be done well. VC is the ultimate test of taste. I don’t think...
By Arianna Simpson
News•Feb 16, 2026
Most Entrepreneurs Never Practice This Skill — and It's Why They Panic Under Pressure
Entrepreneurs often panic not because they lack skills, but because unfamiliar emotions catch them off guard. The article argues that emotional rehearsal—visualizing how challenges will feel—creates a mental memory that steadies the nervous system. Seasoned founders rely on this familiarity,...
By Entrepreneur
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Choose the Letter: Prioritize Product Over Business Wrapper
Are you an envelope entrepreneur or a letter entrepreneur? Someone who's about the container, the business on the outside, or someone who's more focused on the letter, the product inside? You can be both, but I think most are definitely one or...
By Jason Fried
News•Feb 16, 2026
6 Powerful Leadership Lessons From Past U.S. Presidents That Still Hold Up Today
The article distills six leadership lessons drawn from U.S. presidents—Washington, Reagan, Johnson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Clinton—and shows how they translate to modern business. It highlights integrity as a strategic asset, the power of clear vision, the upside of long‑term...
By Entrepreneur
News•Feb 16, 2026
Suhail Sameer-Led OTP Ventures Closes First Fund At ₹500 Cr
OTP Ventures, founded in 2023 by ex‑BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer, closed its first fund at ₹500 crore after a 17‑month raise that attracted over ₹750 crore in commitments. The fund originally aimed for ₹400 crore but was capped to maintain size discipline and...
By Inc42
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Quick AI Wins, Corporate Secrets, and Cognitive Debt Unveiled
Today's Operator Links: https://t.co/31uzXeX8YJ 1️⃣ He Built OpenAI's Competitor in One Month Then Joined Them - @steipete 2️⃣ Leaving Parties at 9:30 for Agents - @nikunj 3️⃣ Sega's Criminal Origin Story - Bradford Morgan White 4️⃣ Finance Can't Figure Out AI - @BrookerBelcourt 5️⃣ Cognitive Debt...
By Hiten Shah
News•Feb 16, 2026
IBLOXX Studios Secures $5 Million for Global Expansion
iBLOXX Studios, a Dubai‑based Web3 game developer, announced it has raised over $5 million from undisclosed investors. The capital will fund global marketing, live‑operations, ongoing updates, and the development of console versions for its upcoming title *StrayShot*. *StrayShot* is a mobile‑first...
By Wamda
News•Feb 16, 2026
QuicKart Secures $1.5 Million to Expand Fresh Commerce Across the UAE
QuicKart, the UAE’s first dedicated fresh‑commerce platform for dairy and farm produce, closed a $1.5 million seed round led by Orbit Ventures. The funding will be used to optimise supply‑chain logistics, upgrade technology, expand last‑mile fulfilment and cold‑chain infrastructure, and add...
By Wamda
News•Feb 16, 2026
The True Price of Scaling AI in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates is rapidly scaling AI, with 76% of enterprises already deploying sector‑specific systems and the domestic market projected to reach $4.74 billion by 2031. Government incentives, free‑zone ecosystems, and regulatory sandboxes have created a fertile environment for AI...
By Wamda
News•Feb 16, 2026
ZIWO Raises Strategic Debt Investment From Amplify Growth Fund
UAE‑based AI contact‑centre platform ZIWO has secured a strategic growth credit investment from Ajeej Capital’s Amplify Growth Fund, with the amount undisclosed. The funding will finance ZIWO’s expansion across the GCC, deepen regional partnerships, and accelerate the rollout of advanced...
By Wamda
News•Feb 16, 2026
RBI Approves Rajan Bajaj as MD and CEO of Slice
Fintech firm Slice announced that its founder Rajan Bajaj has been appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, with the appointment cleared by the board, shareholders and the Reserve Bank of India. Bajaj, who previously served as Executive Director, steered Slice...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 16, 2026
Artisan Coffee Leading the Way for Independents
Artisan Coffee, founded by Edwin and Magda Harrison in 2011, pioneered the UK independent coffee scene by opening its first Putney shop amid a market dominated by chains. The couple expanded into a training school in 2014 and launched Curious...
By The Retail Bulletin
News•Feb 16, 2026
Investment Fund for Wales Sees Largest-Ever Deal
British Business Bank’s £130 m Investment Fund for Wales has completed its largest single investment, a £3.5 m injection into engineering services firm Advantiv. The deal, executed by fund manager Foresight Group, marks the 102nd investment since the fund’s 2023 launch. Advantiv...
By UKTN (UK Tech News)
News•Feb 16, 2026
Monica Cash Highlights Three Years of Growth, Processing Over ₦500 Billion in Transactions
Monica Cash celebrated three years of uninterrupted service, processing more than ₦500 billion in crypto and everyday payment transactions. The platform has become Nigeria’s most trusted crypto app, offering instant bitcoin‑to‑naira and USDT‑to‑naira conversions alongside bill‑pay, airtime, and bank transfers. Its...
By Techpoint Africa
News•Feb 16, 2026
Leadership Enters the ‘Explain Yourself’ Era
Robert Walters’ Talent Trends 2026 research reveals that 84% of managers say their decisions are under tighter scrutiny than two years ago, while 79% of employees are watching leadership choices more closely. Workers prioritize people‑related decisions and burnout‑related policies, prompting a...
By Startups Magazine
News•Feb 16, 2026
Alibaba Debuts Qwen 3.5, Adding "Visual Agentic Capabilities" To Independently Execute Tasks, and Says It Is 60% Cheaper to Use...
Alibaba announced the launch of Qwen 3.5, its latest generative‑AI model. The model adds visual agentic capabilities, allowing it to interpret images and autonomously carry out complex tasks. Alibaba claims Qwen 3.5 costs 60% less to run and delivers eight‑fold...
By Techmeme
News•Feb 16, 2026
Busha Champions Stablecoins as a Catalyst for African Trade at Africa Tech Summit Nairobi
Busha, a leading African digital‑asset exchange, highlighted stablecoins as a catalyst for cross‑border trade at the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi. COO Moyo Sodipo argued that the focus should move from speculation to infrastructure, emphasizing payroll, trade settlement and institutional...
By Techpoint Africa
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Great SaaS Ideas Stem From Lived Problems, Not Novelty
luca.restagno.dev startup founder Hot take: The best SaaS ideas aren't new. They're problems you've already lived with for years. Let me explain 👇 --- luca.restagno.dev startup founder Author When I needed a new product after selling my last SaaS, I didn't brainstorm. I looked at the tools I was ALREADY using...
By Luca Restagno
News•Feb 16, 2026
Scaling Our Spinout Ecosystem
The UK spinout ecosystem has attracted over $19.2 billion in venture capital since 2020, making it Europe’s largest hub for science‑based startups. However, a shortage of domestic scale‑up capital, founder‑focused tax and visa constraints, and a procurement system that favors large...
By UKTN (UK Tech News)
News•Feb 16, 2026
OPay Wins Fintech Company of the Year for Second Time at Leadership Awards
OPay was named Fintech Company of the Year 2025 at Nigeria’s Leadership Annual Conference, marking its second back‑to‑back win after 2024. The award, presented in Abuja, recognized OPay’s innovation, security and broad financial‑inclusion impact for millions of individuals and MSMEs....
By Techpoint Africa
News•Feb 16, 2026
Why Doing Less Is the Smartest Strategy for Bootstrapped AI Startups
Bootstrapped AI startups achieve greater traction by deliberately limiting scope rather than chasing broad scale. By concentrating on a single, well‑defined use case, founders can allocate scarce capital to refine data, model performance, and user experience. This focused approach creates...
By Startups Magazine
News•Feb 16, 2026
European Tech Weekly Recap: More than 65 Tech Funding Deals Worth over €3.4B
European venture capital activity surged last week, with more than 65 tech funding deals totaling over €3.4 billion. Cloud startups captured €1.2 billion, followed closely by space ventures at €1.1 billion, while healthtech secured €214.4 million. The United Kingdom led the regional tally with...
By Tech.eu
News•Feb 16, 2026
Anthropic Valued at $380Bn as It Raises $30Bn Series G
Anthropic secured $30 billion in a Series G round led by GIC and Coatue, lifting its post‑money valuation to $380 billion. The funding backs rapid expansion of its enterprise AI suite, including Claude, Claude Code, and the newly launched Opus 4.6 model, which now leads...
By Startups Magazine
News•Feb 16, 2026
Legora and Tandem Health CEOs Reject Anthropic and OpenAI Threat
Swedish AI startups Legora and Tandem Health said they do not view US frontier AI labs such as Anthropic and OpenAI as threats to their business models. Legora, a legal‑tech platform serving over 400 firms and valued at $1.8 billion, argues...
By Tech.eu
News•Feb 16, 2026
Exclusive: Tiger Global-Backed Kutumb Enters Gay Dating Space with Polo
Bengaluru‑based Kutumb has entered the LGBTQ+ dating market with Polo, a new gay‑focused app now live on Google Play. Polo offers selfie‑based verification, AI‑driven matchmaking, instant messaging and audio‑video calls, plus private photo albums and interest filters. The launch follows...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 16, 2026
ValleyNXT Ventures Launches Rs 400 Cr Early-Stage Fund for Deeptech Startups
ValleyNXT Ventures has launched the Bharat Breakthrough Fund‑I, a SEBI‑registered Category I VC vehicle aimed at seed to pre‑Series A deep‑tech startups. The fund seeks an initial Rs 200 crore raise, with an option to double to Rs 400 crore. It will combine traditional venture capital...
By YourStory
News•Feb 16, 2026
Startup Nation: What It Really Takes to Build a Resilient Innovation Hub
Governments are seeking ways to build startup ecosystems that can grow even during geopolitical shocks, supply‑chain disruptions, and economic volatility. The article argues that resilience—not branding or isolated reforms—is the key, using Silicon Valley’s ability to compress, recalibrate, and accelerate...
By Startups Magazine
News•Feb 16, 2026
Sitegeist Secures €4M Pre-Seed for AI Modular Robots in Construction
Munich‑based Sitegeist secured €4 million in a pre‑seed round led by b2venture and OpenOcean to develop AI‑driven modular robots for construction. The startup targets the massive concrete‑renovation backlog in Europe and North America, where labor shortages and manual removal methods drive...
By Tech.eu
News•Feb 16, 2026
Terra Now Valued at over $100 Million, as It Extends Funding to $34 Million
Terra Industries, an African defence‑technology startup, extended its Series A round to $34 million after adding $22 million in fresh capital, pushing its valuation past the $100 million mark. The round was led by Lux Capital and attracted new angel investors such as actor...
By Techpoint Africa
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Solve One Problem, Don't Chase Endless Feature Lists
Builders think: “I need more features.” Users think: “I need one problem solved.” Guess who wins? What problem does your product solve?
By Rado (This.is.rado)
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Adjust ROI: Account for Estimation Errors in Task Prioritization
ROI is a good way to prioritize mid-sized tasks, but estimation errors (both in duration and in impact) can change the ROI by 2x-5x, so you need a system that understands that and causes you to select the right tasks...
By Jason Cohen
News•Feb 16, 2026
LocalHost Raises $2.5 Mn From InVideo, RedBull India, and Others
LocalHost, a startup launchpad, secured $2.5 million in an angel round led by InVideo, RedBull India, Anthropic and Eros International. The capital will fund expansion of its global founder labs, bolstering hardware infrastructure and scaling operational teams across regions. Existing labs...
By Entrackr
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Content Drives Hiring: 10+ Hires From One Episode
Talked to a @BananaCap_ portfolio company this morning who mentioned they hired 10+ people from their @ThePeelPod episode. Insane how much value you can add for founders when you get really dialed in on content.
By Turner Novak
Social•Feb 16, 2026
AI-Driven Redesign Lets Small Groups Shape Future Systems
Underestimated moment of agency/leverage is that many systems are being redesigned for AI & fluid for the first time in a long time (how do you hire? How does scientific publishing work?) That creates an opening for small groups to set...
By Ethan Mollick
News•Feb 16, 2026
IFlytek’s Audio Transcription Tool Reaches 100 Million Users
iFlytek’s iFlyrec audio transcription app has surpassed 100 million users, becoming the company’s second core product to hit nine‑figure adoption. The service relies on a subscription‑based SaaS model rather than advertising or subsidies, delivering over 60% gross‑profit growth for three straight...
By KrASIA
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Publish, Share, and Win: Visibility Beats Hidden R&D
Most AI companies spend millions on R&D, then hide the results in dusty PDFs. The real winners? Publish research → turn it into blog posts, videos, social posts → distribute relentlessly. Visibility > velocity. https://t.co/PNytCOQeuq
By Ross Simmonds
News•Feb 16, 2026
Genki Forest Calls 2025 a Breakthrough Year, Tightens Ops to Focus on Steady Growth
Genki Forest celebrated its ninth anniversary by declaring 2025 a breakthrough year, achieving its first sustainable profitability and higher‑quality growth. The company credited tighter expense control, disciplined pricing and a trimmed SKU portfolio for the improvement, while deepening channel penetration...
By KrASIA
News•Feb 16, 2026
Sagrada Madre Enters Mainland China After Building a Following in Hong Kong
Argentine incense brand Sagrada Madre has opened 15 counter stores in mainland China, moving from a Hong Kong souvenir niche to a structured retail presence. The brand commands roughly 30% of incense‑related searches on Xiaohongshu, signalling strong digital visibility. Leveraging patented...
By KrASIA
News•Feb 16, 2026
Blushington Co-Founders Discuss 15 Years of Operating in the Beauty Industry
Blushington’s co‑founders Nicki Maron and Stephi Cohen marked 15 years of operating a hybrid beauty‑service franchise, highlighted by the opening of their first Boca Raton franchise. The brand pioneered an affordable, service‑first makeup lounge when experiential retail was nascent, later...
By Inside Retail Australia
News•Feb 16, 2026
How One Teaspoon Turned Counter‑culture Denim Into a 25‑Year Global Business
One Teaspoon, founded by Liz Roberts in 1999, has evolved from a counter‑culture denim experiment into a globally distributed brand sold in over 40 countries. The label has remained entirely self‑funded, preserving full control over pricing, design, and retail partnerships....
By Inside Retail Australia
Social•Feb 16, 2026
True Pivots Build on Commitment, Not Constant Overhauls
If you're constantly changing the product, that's not “pivoting.” It's probably good. If you're constantly changing the entire company, that's not pivoting either, that's different companies. Pivot is committed to 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, and then pivoting around 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.
By Jason Cohen
News•Feb 16, 2026
Arm Wants a Bigger Slice of the Chip Business
Arm, the British‑American‑Japanese semiconductor IP giant, now powers more than 300 billion chips, including 30 billion shipped in 2025 alone. While it never manufactures silicon, the firm earns upfront licensing fees and per‑chip royalties from a vast ecosystem of device makers. In...
By Hacker News
News•Feb 16, 2026
Techstars Sydney Is the Latest Victim of the NSW Government’s Ongoing Startup Purge
Techstars Sydney accelerator is shutting down after its three‑year contract with the NSW government expired, ending the state’s funding for the program. Over three cohorts the accelerator invested more than $6 million in 36 startups, with 58% receiving their first external...
By Startup Daily (ANZ)
Social•Feb 15, 2026
Start with Reg D, Then Reg CF, Then Reg A+
How to raise capital online: 1: Start with Reg D 506(c) 2: Move into a Reg Cf 3: Move into a Reg A+ This is ordered by the fastest, easiest and most cost effective way to raise online. Companies with...
By Darren Marble
Social•Feb 15, 2026
Know Your Scale: One‑person? Plan Your Exit
Are you a "0-1" person or a "2-50" person or a "100-5000" person? Often we don’t know until we’re already in the thick of it. You think you know, only because there’s comfort in the familiar. But maybe you really are just...
By Jason Cohen
Social•Feb 15, 2026
Prediction Markets Turn Insiders Into Profit-Driven Actors
This is the kind of stuff that I don't understand about g̶a̶m̶b̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ prediction markets: doesn't it not only encourage insider betting, but also insider action? This is the wildest conflict-of-interest-as-a-Service platform I've ever seen. For ANY kind of event.
By Arvid Kahl